The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Dahlia plant, botanically known as Dahlia variabilis, commercially referred to as a pot-type Dahlia, and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Dahlstar Pinkxe2x80x99.
The new Dahlia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Mariahout-Laarbeek, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new pot-type Dahlia cultivars with desirable inflorescence form, attractive colors, and good garden performance.
The new Dahlia originated from a cross made by the Inventor of two unidentified proprietary Dahlia variabilis selections, not patented. The new Dahlia was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross grown in a controlled environment in Mariahout-Laarbeek, The Netherlands. Plants of the new Dahlia differ from plants of the parent selections primarily in ray floret coloration.
A sexual reproduction of the new Dahlia by vegetative tip cuttings was first conducted in Mariahout-Laarbeek, The Netherlands in 1996. Asexual reproduction by cuttings has shown that the unique features of this new Dahlia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The cultivar xe2x80x98Dahlstar Pinkxe2x80x99 has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Dahlstar Pinkxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Dahlstar Pinkxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct pot-type Dahlia:
1. Upright and compact plant habit.
2. Freely branching, full and dense plants.
3. Medium-sized semi-double type inflorescences.
4. Pink-colored ray florets with bright yellow-colored disc florets.
5. Good garden performance.
Plants of the new Dahlia can be compared to plants of the Dahlia cultivar xe2x80x98Rowendyxe2x80x99, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,459. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Venhuizen, The Netherlands, plants of the new Dahlia were more vigorous, more freely branching, had smaller leaves and inflorescences, and had better garden performance than plants of the cultivar xe2x80x98Rowendyxe2x80x99.